Home Invasion of Squirrel-Kind

At work, we have those metal bars that roll down in front of the main entrance for security. Even though it cost $1000 to install, I don’t think we’ve ever used them. My manager says that was put in for the shoe store that used to be there - have to protect that merchandise! Well, since it’s been there for so long without anyone using it, birds have been nesting in its housing unit every year. This year, things have gotten kind of hairy.

Almost every day I would see a bird fly up there above the entrance, trying to fit into the slim slit that leads into the spacious inside. When it comes out, I would sometimes see it get stuck by its foot and start fluttering wildly above the glass door entrance. I was afraid it would injure itself because it looked pretty dangerous. Then, during one Saturday program, a blue egg fell from up there and squished to the ground. Eventually, a really bad stench started coming from the housing.

While I’m a big fan of not disturbing animals, even I knew something had to be done because the smell was getting overwhelming, and there were feathers everywhere from the birds that would get stuck. Earlier today, the property owner and his son (a friend of mine) cleared the housing out. They found five dead birds and a squirrel nest…

How they ever learned to live together up there, I’ll never know. Maybe the squirrels had something to do with the deaths, or maybe the birds didn’t get enouth to eat because the parents couldn’t get up there often enough.

I came just as they were putting up some chicken wire to block up the opening to the thing, and while the friend of mine filled me in on what they found, two squirrels came running up the stairs to where we were. One of them wasn’t afraid of us at all - walked right past our feet, looked at us with its big black eyes, and put its paw on the glass door of our entrance. It then jumped up on the railing below the housing despite the property owner there on a ladder, sealing it up. It wouldn’t leave until he banged on the railing a few times - then the squirrel went flying to the ground and scurried away across the street. Poor little guy. I hope it finds a new home.